Lucy and the Espers
by Dracopest
Summary: A little more anger left her without her keys. A little more defiance gave her a different way out. Lucy Heartfilia wanted adventure, maybe this was a little more than she bargained for. But it wouldn't be fun if it was too easy.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Red Box

 **AN: When you start reading Belias' parts try placing it with the voice of Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Final Fantasy. Those belong respectively to Hiro Mashima and Square Enix.**

 **July 21st, 777**

It was raining again. It always felt like it was raining without her here. His beloved wife gone. Damn her magic, damn her family and those foolish instructions. Then that woman had the gall to show up seven days late. He had only barely restrained himself from strangling the woman. Grammi was fortunate that she had a daughter of her own. Promises to Layla or not, nothing less than the thought of leaving another small child without her mother kept him from killing the woman himself.

Jude Heartfilia was truly unfamiliar with this feeling of loss. The years since leaving Love and Lucky had been nothing but amazing for the man. Good fortune seemed to follow every venture that Jude and Layla sought to accomplish. At times it felt like opportunities just fell from the sky. They had quickly become one of the wealthiest businesses in all of Fiore. Yet all of that success was shadowed by this loss. To have Layla back he would give it all back, all the wealth, all the success and prestige they had earned. They had earned this life together and it all felt so worthless without her here.

Glancing out the window to the grounds below Jude spotted his young daughter in the garden. It appeared she was screaming at her doll. Lucy had been inconsolable for the past two weeks. She had lashed out at almost everyone. No one wanted to explain why her mother had left her. The poor girl felt betrayed. Jude loved his daughter and Lucy loved her father but everyone knew that Lucy was closer to her mother than anyone else. Seeing his daughter with her eyes puffy and red, crying in the rain was just another dagger in his already shredded heart. Seeing Lucy leave the doll and stomp back in from the rain, Jude decided to see if there was anything he could do.

Lucy was so angry and tired. She had spent the whole day doing her best to get someone to explain why her mother had died. No one had been able to look her in the eyes and she knew they were lying. Mommy always said that lying was wrong but everyone seemed to be doing it. Lucy missed her, missed her so much. Mommy always helped her with anything she needed, she taught Lucy everything she knew, and she always tucked her in at night. Oh Spetto made sure she had anything she needed but it wasn't the same.

 _"I just want mommy. But she's gone and I want her so bad. Mommy always read me stories and told me about her spirits and made everyone happy. Why did she have to leave me?"_

Lucy rubbed at her eyes as fresh tears began to fall down them. They were raw at this point and sore. Lucy wanted so badly for her mother to come around the corner and tell her everything would be alright.

*sniffle* _"I wish someone would hold me, I don't wanna walk, I'm tired and hungry and I just want … just want mommy."_

Breaking into a sobbing fit Lucy fell onto her knees and cried. She sat there in the hallway holding onto herself as she shook. Before long a worried Spetto found the poor child and picked her up. Holding the despondent little girl close Spetto carried the young mistress back to her room. Placing Lucy into bed and tucking her in Spetto rubbed the poor girl's back as she cried herself to sleep.

After a few moments Spetto walked out of the room to retrieve some ointment for the poor girl's eyes and some soup for when she woke up. Not even halfway down the hall she was stopped as Master Heartfilia came around the corner.

"Is she awake?" Jude was a practical man but he loved his wife and daughter. Now Lucy was all that he had left of Layla and he would try to show he cared.

"Not at the moment Master Heartfilia. I was on my way to get some food for little Lucy for when she wakes up."

Spetto knew her Master wasn't an adept family man but it was obvious he was trying even as he did his best to cope with his own feelings of loss. It seemed to be an uphill struggle to the staff. Lucy had lost her mother and would occasionally lash out as her frustration and sadness could not be held back any longer. Jude was completely out of his depth and it was obvious. Layla had been the one to sooth any tears or help Lucy work through her problems.

"Ah good… good. I'm just going to check on her until you get back." Spetto gave a bow as Jude walked by and continued making her way back to the kitchen.

On her way Spetto contemplated the final task her late mistress had set her. The keys weighed heavily in her pocket with every step she took. She knew that Miss Layla had spent so much time with Lucy telling her about the spirits and explaining the magic behind them.

Lucy loved hearing about the spirits, about the magic that let a wizard bring friends from another world. Of course Miss Layla made everything sound so wonderful to her daughter. She had of course informed Lucy of the dangers associated with summoning the spirits but the smile on Miss Layla's face and the warmth that flowed from her when she talked about her spirits left such an impression on young Lucy.

But …. was it right to give little Lucy the keys after all that had happened. After seeing the state that Miss Layla's magic reduced her to Spetto was reluctant to give her daughter access to the same kind of power. Oh she knew that it was important to Miss Layla and that Miss Lucy had been looking forward to learning how to be just like her mother but Spetto didn't want to lose another loved one to something that she just didn't understand. Magic could be wonderful, making lives easier, bringing dreams to fruition, and safeguarding the kingdom. But it could also be ugly, dark guilds committed crimes using their magical skills, monsters made from black arts in days long past occasionally awoke and wreaked havoc before they could be dispatched, and cults worshipping old gods would seek out those with magical power for who knows what.

All of this could be found from simply reading a newspaper every once in a while. Who knew what really awaited an upcoming wizard out in the wide world. Miss Lucy would undoubtedly leave the estate someday seeking to live out her own tales of wonder to match those of her mother's.

" _But do I want that sweet girl to brave that world? Do I have that right? I love the girl but she isn't my daughter. Giving Lucy these keys would be setting her on a path that would undoubtedly see her in dangerous situations. Her head is so full of the stories her mother told her that I don't doubt that she would run headfirst towards trouble."_ The grim thoughts swirled around in Spetto's mind as she filled a small bowl with soup.

Jude Heartfilia looked at his daughter with sorrow. She was almost the spitting image of her mother. He brushed her hair as she slept, a small frown crossed his face. It was painful looking at anything that reminded him of Layla. Unfair as it was his own daughter just made him want to cry. The dampness in the corner of his eyes made it clear to him that he had stayed log enough. Standing Jude looked around the room. So many things in here had the touch of Layla. A blanket on the chair, a brush by the mirror, the book on the dresser. So many reminders of the wonderful woman that had left them behind. It was suffocating. He had work to do anyways.

" _I have work to do. I can't be stuck crying in my daughter's room. I will keep this estate in working order. That's what I can do for Layla and for Lucy."_ Jude left the room intending to return to his study.

Coming down the hall Spetto spotted Master Jude. She stopped a moment in the hallway waiting for a moment for her Master to meet with her.

"Yes Spetto what is it?" Jude was looking at the concerned expression on his servant's face.

"Master Jude I have given it some thought and I feel like I should tell you that Mistress Layla gave me a final request that I feel conflicted over." Spetto wrung her hands frowning as she began her uncertain discussion.

"Why exactly would you feel conflicted over ANY request my late wife gave you?" Jude was rather irate. He was already rather emotional from his time with Lucy and the fact that one of his servants had the gall to ignore a request of Layla was infuriating.

"It was not my intention to disobey but I feel that her instructions might hurt Lady Lucy." Spetto was shaking. She didn't want to anger Master Jude any further.

"Mistress Layla asked me to give Lady Lucy these to her when she had passed." Spetto pulled out two golden keys. One held a smooth urn like shape with what looked like two u's at its base and the other had a rounder base with segments and a symbol resembling the number sixty nine.

Jude's anger vanished and was quickly replaced with horror. He recognized the keys in her hand. Two of Layla's most used Zodiac Keys, Aquarius and Cancer. It filled him with dread just looking at those keys. Those two keys had played a part in Layla's passing. How much he was unsure of but he knew that they played a part.

" _Layla wanted to give those awful things to Lucy! Why? Why would she possibly want to burden our child with those monsters!?"_ The tables had turned as now it was Jude that was shaking.

He wasn't certain what to do. To give the keys to Lucy would mean to allow magic into her, knowing full well that it was the cause of her mother's death. Undoubtedly she would love the things as much as her mother. He couldn't keep her safe in that world and he refused to lose his daughter to the same thing as his wife.

"I will take those. Lucy will not suffer the same end as her mother. I will see to it that these keys find new homes far from here." Taking the keys Jude turned to return to his study. It seemed he had an important task to accomplish before he returned to his work.

"Oh and Spetto let all the servants know that anything of Layla's and anything related to magic are to be boxed and placed in the attic or into the basement."

"What of Bero, Master Jude?" Spetto was worried about her old friend. She hadn't intended to cause trouble, she just wanted to keep Lady Lucy safe.

"….. He has been a hard working servant of the Heartfilia estate and his efforts will not go unrewarded. Tell Bero that he has one month to find a new place to live he will be given a monthly allowance for six months. Should he wish to continue working for the Heartfilia estate I will see to it that he is employed appropriately. But I will not allow him to continue to live here and give Lucy more tutelage and hope for a life that I refuse to see come to pass." With that he walked away to work on keeping these things out of his daughter's grasp.

As Jude rounded the corner Spetto held her hands together and prayed that Lady Layla would forgive her. She needed to find Aed and ask him to have his nephews help her move the necessary things to the attic and cellar but for now she would check on the young mistress.

A few weeks passed and things had grown more solemn in the Heartfilia estate. Bero had not taken kindly to the dismissal and had been furious with Spetto. The fact that she had given Miss Layla's keys to Master Jude was what really sent him into a fit. Last she had seen he had already packed his things and left claiming he would stay with family. Spetto felt bad about that but she couldn't help what had been done. For now the effort to pack up all of Miss Layla's things was ongoing. It seemed like every time they thought they had put away all of her things they would find more tucked away somewhere.

" _Miss Layla always was a little bit of a hoarder. It was always at such odds with all of her inherent grace and kindness that no one ever complained though."_ Spetto thought to herself as she moved another box to the attic.

Lady Lucy had been silent for a while after she had asked why Beros had left. On top of that she didn't appreciate her mother's things being taken to the attic and cellar to be locked away. She stopped talking to Spetto and the other servants that helped to move away all of her mother's things.

Spetto sighed. "I do hope she'll forgive me."

Lucy Heartfilia was not having a good day. Mister Beros had left, her favorite books had been taken away, it was raining outside again, and all of the servants were busy. A number of them were even taking away Mommy's stuff. She was not happy with any of them for that. It felt like everyone was trying to forget her mother and made her so angry. Even all of the books on celestial magic were missing.

" _Those were MY books! Mommy said so. She said that I was a celestial wizard and that I had to study hard to be a good friend to my spirits. Mister Bero is gone and now all of my books are gone as well. I can't find Mommy's keys either and no one wants to tell me where they are!"_ Lucy stomped through the halls getting angrier as she thought about her situation.

"I'm gonna go ask Daddy where Mommy's stuff is and where the keys are. He'll know, Daddy always knows how to get things." Lucy started her way towards her father's study.

Lucy hadn't spoken with her father for quite some time. He was always busy in his study now. Lucy wasn't supposed to go in when he was working but she hadn't seen her father in weeks. It shouldn't be a problem for her to pop in for a little while.

Opening the door to the study Lucy saw her father working at his desk. He was so absorbed in his work he didn't even notice her come in. She strode to the desk, a little happiness returning to her at seeing her father again.

"Daddy where's Mommy's stuff?" Lucy's voice startled the man before her. He had been busy trying to figure out how best to move some merchandise from one of the eastern fringes of Fiore to the capital.

Looking down at his daughter he frowned deeply. This was a discussion he had been hoping to avoid.

"Your mother's things are being placed into storage until they are needed further. Leaving them out takes up that much more room and makes more work for the servants." A flimsy excuse at best he hoped that Lucy would let the matter drop. As he turned back down to his work.

"Oh…. ok Daddy. Well do you think I could have the books on magic and mommy's keys? I need them to be a wizard like mommy right?" Lucy was a little confused. It shouldn't take that much more time to clean Mommy's things and the books that were missing were supposed to be hers.

Jude was beginning to become irritated. He was busy with important work and his daughter was bringing up issues that he felt no longer needed attention.

"No you don't need those books any longer. You are not going to be a wizard. You are the heiress to the Heartfilia estate. You don't have time to waste on foolish tricks. You will be a lady of nobility someday and you must learn to behave like one. Now I have work to do so you will have to find something else to do." The grip on his pen strengthening the longer the conversation went.

"Bu-but those are MY books! Mommy said I was born to be a wizard and that I could have her keys someday." Lucy was beginning to panic. She felt like her dreams were being crushed with every word her father spoke.

Jude rose to his feet in response to her outburst. "Young lady you will mind your voice while speaking to me! AM I UNDERSTOOD!?" Jude's voice raised in anger left Lucy trembling.

Father had never shouted at her before. Even when she came in while he was working he would just get up pat her on the head and walk her out. It was scary. He was scary. Even as he composed himself and sat back down

"That life is behind you. You had your fun with Master Bero. Now it is time to learn how to be a lady. Next week a tutor will arrive to educate you in everything you must know to survive in the world of Fiore's social elite. You will follow every instruction they give and you will not complain."

"But what about the keys, Mommy said I would make friends with –"

"THOSE DEMONS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS! THEY WEREN'T LAYLA'S FRIENDS EITHER!" Jude standing at his full height once more the now cracked pen leaked ink between his fingers.

Reaching for the handkerchief in his pocket he wiped his hand as best he could eyeing his now crying daughter as she sat on the floor shaking. He didn't have time for this.

"I have seen to it that you will never get your hands on those gods forsaken things. They have been sold to some wealthy collectors. We will never speak of them again. Now leave and do not enter my study unless there is an emergency." With that he returned to his work, ignoring the heartbroken girl leaving the room in tears.

Lucy ran from that awful room. From that awful man. That wasn't her father that was someone else. It had to be. Her father had never been so cruel. He would've never done those terrible things. She ran through the hallways, shaking, doing her best to breathe through the tears as she rushed to her place of solace.

The sunroom was small with shelves built on either side of the window. The view was high enough from the mansion to see far to the edges of the garden half of the estate. It was the place that Lucy loved most in the whole mansion. She remembered sitting here with her mother. Reading the books and talking about anything and everything. Dozing off in the sunlight in her mother's arms. So many wonderful memories were made in this room. Falling onto the small daybed in the room, Lucy clutched a pillow to her crying eyes.

"Why mommy? Why did he do that? I'm supposed to be a wizard. You were a wizard. You told me that I have magic in me. That I had to use my magic for the good of everyone. All the things I was supposed to see and places I was supposed to go. I wanted to be just like you. But now … *sniff* now I'll never be able to do any of that!" the pillow growing damp with the tears and snot of the little girl.

Having locked the door behind her Lucy didn't care who heard as she screamed into the pillow. She bit and thrashed as she cried to the heavens above and the rain that beat ever harder seemed to be in response. As the rain beat harder and Lucy threw her fit an ethereal glow spread around the young girl's body. It spread and filled the room, lighting every nook and cranny. Lucy was drawing in magic so quickly that it was almost solid. Her fists hitting the pillow over and over as the loss of her future dawned on her. AS her hands crashed over and over on the pillow her little knuckles swung an inch to far and grazed the hard wall behind the daybed. Pulling her hand back she hissed at her now bloody hand.

In that moment all of that magic drawn in by the young girl rushed to that small bit of blood on the stone wall. It spread like ink into shapes across the wall. Lucy watched as the wall before her was covered with symbols before collapsing into a shape. A door stood there, red with a small silver knob. Lucy had never seen this door and stood there in shock. Her mother had never said anything about a door.

But there it stood and she was curious. The door had opened with magic and blood. They hadn't managed to cover all of it before he left but Master Bero had made it very clear that any magic that included blood in its use was dangerous and powerful. Why was it here in her favorite place? The only other person that came in her was … her mother. Did mommy make this door? She had to know what was in there. Walking up to the door she pulled the handle and the door swung open without any resistance.

Inside she found a small room. A wooden desk with a small chair in front of it seemed to be the only furniture in place. On the desk lay three objects. A small book, a pen, and a red box. Climbing onto the chair, Lucy went for the book first. It was handwritten from the looks of it.

 _April 14_ _th_ _, 758_

 _This journal is the property of Layla Heartfilia, written to cover my knowledge of the dangerous entity that I have uncovered and the terrifying possibilities its presence implies._

 _In my travels I came upon an ancient city. As I walked towards its center I came to a grand structure. I believe it was at one point a central structure for the governing body of the city. When I approached the gate to this structure a great heat fell upon me. I jumped back quickly and managed to avoid a great spell of fire._

 _The creature was so very strange and yet something felt familiar. Two sets of arms, one much larger than the other, a great mane of red hair, a large pole style weapon, and a mask with two faces and great curling horns on either side. It was fearsome in both appearance and in the abundant power it gave out._

 _I summoned both Capricorn and Aquarius immediately. I was not willing to take any chances with this creature. Poor Aquarius was out of her element or the following battle might have been easier. As it was it took the better part of an hour and destroying half the city, before we were able to push the creature into one of the waterways. It was at that point that Aquarius was able to drown the creature. When it began to dissipate into a dark mist I thought the battle was done._

 _But I could still feel the creature's presence lingering there. It felt angry, hurt, and lost. There was still that familiar feeling coming from the creature though. Reaching out on a hunch I pressed raw celestial magic into the creature itself. It responded immediately. The dark mist swirled around the magic offered to it wrapping itself in my celestial magic and after a few moments collapsed smaller and smaller until it became a form I was so familiar with that it took me a moment to comprehend what was right in front of me._

 _A celestial key. Pitch black and at its base the shape of two horns curling into each other and a small red symbol that any celestial wizard would recognize. The symbol of the ram, Aries. What was this creature? Where had it come from? And why was its key marked with one of the twelve symbols of the zodiac?_

 _These were answers I desperately needed but at the time I could not open the gate in order to summon the creature forth. The key merely gave off a tired feeling whenever I tried to open it. It would be a whole week before I would be able to summon the creature forth and learn anything from it. The esper of fire and pain, Belias the Gigas._

Lucy shook as she read the first entry in the book. This was her mother's journal. After having everything of her mother's taken away to hold something of her mother's once more was pure joy. The tears rushing down her face anew contrasted with the bright smile that spread across her face. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear them as she looked at her mother's words.

" _Mom was awesome. She never told me about espers before though. What's an esper?"_

Leaving the book for a moment Lucy turned to the red box. It was nothing exceptional. Just a small wooden box painted red with a little latch on the front. Pulling it closer she opened the latch and swung the chest open. Her eyes grew wide and her breath hitched at the sole occupant of the chest.

" _It's the same key. It's the one from the book. Mom was right it does feel weird. But it's a celestial key. I have a celestial key! I can still be a celestial wizard now! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"_

Lucy was dancing in place, hopping up and down. Well until the wobbling chair she was on went a little too far and she was suddenly balancing on two of its legs. A squeak was all she was able to give out before she fell to the ground.

"Oww. Well maybe dancing on a chair wasn't such a good idea. Hehe I'm gonna be a celestial wizard, though. I'll make you proud Mom."

Laying on the floor a small blond girl held a black key over her head. Her grin was blinding and her hands tightened into little fists were held strong. She wouldn't let her father keep her from being the only thing she had ever wanted to be. A wizard with the power to write her own stories. She would show all of Fiore how awesome a wizard she was and this key was the first step.

"As soon as it stops raining we're gonna go outside and you and I are going to be great friends!" Smiling at the key in her hands, Lucy giggled a little when the key seemed to warm in response.

Lucy's plans were sadly put on a rain check for a few days. The summer showers were abnormally heavy this year and the grounds were becoming rather muddy. Lucy had even heard some of the servants talking about calling in a wizard to try and keep the roads from becoming damaged. Thankfully they ended before that was necessary. Now with the rains finally having stopped and the roads having dried up Lucy was going to go and summon her first spirit.

After leaving the hidden room a few days ago, the door had quickly disappeared as soon as she shut it behind her. Lucy had come to the conclusion that with some blood and magic she could probably open it again but she didn't really feel like making herself bleed to open the door. Besides she had her Mother's journal, the black ram key, and she had even taken the pen. She didn't want to part with anything else of her mother's even if it was just a pen. She kept them with her wherever she went. The key was always tucked in a pocket while the book and pen were tucked into a satchel she had taken to carrying with her.

Lucy was currently rushing through the halls to go outside. She had no intention of being anywhere near the mansion when she summoned her first spirit. No one would take her first friend from her. Smiling wide she couldn't help but run a little faster to go outside. Passing by Aed the cook she called out to him.

"I'm going outside Mr. Aed! It's too pretty to be inside today." A little laughter creeping into her voice.

"Alright but don't go too far and be careful. Don't climb any trees today, don't wanna get stuck out there again do ya?" A quick laugh of his own following.

"That was one time Mr. Aed!" Blushing at the memory she ran past.

As she left the mansion she headed towards the forest that covered so much of the land behind the mansion. Slowing down to a walk once she entered she made sure to head for the area that wouldn't be seen from even the highest window facing this way. Her mother and Mr. Bero had both told her that some spirits could be rather eccentric and she didn't want a light show to bring out some of the servants.

Reaching her destination Lucy nodded her head in approval of her own brilliance. The trees here were tall and there was river nearby that drowned out a lot of noise. So even if the spirit was really loud no one back at the house would hear it. She was shaking with anticipation. It was time to summon her first spirit.

"Ok so I have to hold the key, channel the magic, and say the incantation. Umm but what's the incantation for this key? Ahhh I didn't think about that! I was just so excited to get a new friend. Well maybe if I use the incantation for the Aries key it'll work."

Having taken a deep breath to relax herself after the short freak out, Lucy took a stance and held the key in front of herself.

" **Open Gate of the White Ram! Aries!"**

The wind blowing by and the sound of the river were all that answered her though.

"Ahhhhhh why didn't it work?! How are we supposed to be friends if I cant even summon you." Huffing she dropped to the ground.

" _Wait maybe Mom wrote how to open it. I haven't even had the chance to look over her journal with my lessons lately."_

Opening the book she skimmed through its pages looking for the answer she sought. Only glances were given to the pages inside. If it did not obviously have the answer she flipped to the next page. On around the seventh page she found what she was looking for.

Making sure to memorize it Lucy stood once more. It was very odd so she wanted to make sure it was correct. Holding the key forward she readied herself. This was it. The first step towards adventure.

" **Release the Chains of the Fallen Guardian! Belias the Gigas!"**

This time there was an immediate response as a deep gong filled the air. Magic rushed from Lucy to the key in her hand at an astonishing rate. A great dark mist formed in front of her before taking shape and then bursting into flames. The creature that appeared was just as her mother described. It was exceptionally large. Lucy was a little intimidated but this was her first spirit and she wanted them to be friends. Remembering her manners she knew she was supposed to make a contract with the spirit.

"Umm hi there, I'm Lucy Heartfilia and I was hoping we could be friends. I promise to be the very best summoner. So what would you need to sign a contract with me?"

The creature with its twin masks merely stared at the small girl that was speaking to it with such care. A rumble seemed to fill the air. Slowly at first and then louder and louder. Lucy began to be a little frightened. The sound changed suddenly and Lucy could finally recognize what it was. This spirit was laughing at her! Then in a brief moment the spirit had picked her up and was …. Was cuddling her!?

"Oh my goodness you are just about the most precious thing I've ever seen! Lucy was it? Well I would be pleased as ever to be your friend my sweet little angel! I'm Belias and you can call on me any time you need me darling and I'll be there." Just about every other word the spirit spoke was accompanied with a brush of her hair or a pinch of her cheeks.

The spirit's voice was warm and a little odd. It sounded like a man. But besides the sheer embarrassment of being picked up and coddled like a baby he didn't feel like a bad person. Her cheeks were beginning to feel like they were on fire as they blushed scarlet.

"Mr. Belias this is kind of embarrassing, could you put me down please?" the pleading tone she used seem to do the trick.

"Oh of course my sweet little pumpkin and no mister, it's just Belias." Belias placed her back on her feet. "Now what can I do for you today sweetheart?"

The blush on her cheeks was just barely beginning to recede. She hoped Belias would stop calling her things like that. It made her feel like a little kid. Maybe she was but she didn't need to be reminded of it. But still it was obvious that he was very friendly so this was great! She had her first spirit and even better her first friend.

"Well I really just wanted to summon you and get to know you a little bit. If that's alright of course?" Lucy shuffled her feet back and forth, a little unsure of herself now that she had actually made the contract.

"Of course sweetheart. I would be delighted to get to know you. But first I have a question for you. You look quite a bit like my last summoner. Layla Heartfilia was her name, any relation?"

Lucy froze, it had been almost two months now but the pain hadn't gone away. Trying to push down the feeling of that loss, it was all she could do to keep herself from crying. But it wasn't enough she started to sniffle and the tears came out anyways.

" _No, no more crying. Today you're a celestial wizard Lucy. You can't cry. You're one more step closer to showing the world how strong you are. Even if you wanted to summon your first spirit with Mom and even if no one else wants to help you, you can't … *sniffle* you can't cry. It's not fair. Today is supposed to be a good day. You're not supposed to cry on good days."_

Sitting on the ground with tears coming down her eyes. She just couldn't stop. Once more the sensation of being picked up surprised her for a moment.

"It's alright Lucy. You can cry when someone is gone. It's alright to miss them."

The warmth in his words and the warmth that came from that fiery red hair was too much. Lucy wrapped her arms as far they would go around her spirit and cried into that soothing red hair. Belias stroked her back and just let her cry herself to the point of exhaustion.

Later when Lucy woke up from her short nap she found herself still laying in Belias' arms with himself sitting against a tree. She smiled up at him and even if she couldn't see it she knew he was smiling back. Taking a breath Lucy knew she could talk about it now.

"Mom is gone. She passed away two months ago. Everything is going wrong lately and when I found you and my Mom's journal I felt like I might be able to get things back to what they were supposed to be. Mom always said that I was a celestial wizard and that I could have my own adventures just like her. I want that so bad, I wanna be a wizard that would make her proud."

Belias with his odd smiling glow looked at this little girl and couldn't help but feel respect for someone so young that wanted to follow in the footsteps of her mother. From his interactions with Layla Heartfilia, Belias knew that wasn't an easy task. But he would help her be the person she so desperately wanted to be.

"Well sweetheart, why don't you tell me about yourself and all these problems? I promise that I'll help you make your mother proud and we'll see you become that amazing wizard in no time."

Lucy looked at Belias and couldn't help but smile at her friend. He was more than she could have asked for. It was in that moment with spirit and wizard looking at each other that a decision was made in the mind of that ten year old girl. Holding out one of her small hands she placed in one of Belias'.

"And I promise I'll make you and all my other spirits proud too Belias! Someday they'll write books about us and our adventures!"

"It's a deal sweetheart."

Legends start somewhere. For Lucy Heartfilia it started with a handshake. But for now she had a friend and that was the best part.

 **END CHAPTER 1**

 **AN: So this is my first fic that I'll have posted. I really don't know what I'm doing here but I hoped you enjoyed the read and I'll try and get out another chapter as soon as I can. In the future they likely wont be this long but we'll have to see.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Forging a Name

 **AN: So I went back and made a small edit to chapter 1. I had forgotten to put the date at the beginning of the chapter. For those that know the fairy tail world, a number of whom probably know it better than I do, you may have noticed something off last chapter. That being Layla's age. Her journal entry was marked as being made on 758. In cannon I am aware that Layla was born in 748 but in my fic I have decided to make her and Jude ten years older. Layla would have started her career as a wizard at 16 in 754, joined Love and Lucky in 764 after having plenty of adventures to share with Lucy, and then finally given birth to Lucy in 767 as per canon. Just wanted to share with ya.**

 **Also if you're wondering what outfit Lucy is wearing its Lightning's (FF13) with a grey Kakashi mask(Naruto) to boot. Though no cape. NO CAPES! I wanted her to wear something just the tiniest bit more intimidating but at the end of the day Lucy knows she's a bombshell and loves to show off her legs. Don't think I've seen Earthland Lucy ever wear pants outside of her pajamas. Stockings and dresses aplenty but Lucy has an aversion to pants it seems.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Final Fantasy. They belong respectively to Hiro Mashima and Square Enix.**

" **Spells"**

" _Thoughts"_

"Speech"

 **June 15** **th** **, 783**

It was nice day out with a slight breeze. The summer heat had yet to set in. Enjoying this lovely weather a lithe young girl sat in a tree by a road. Her blonde hair coiled in a bun, she sat without a care in the world reading a book. She struck a rather odd figure with a short khaki skirt, sleeveless white jacket, with a zipped up turtle neck underneath, and a pair of worn looking leather boots with large leather shin guards. To round out her little ensemble she had a pouch with multiple pockets strapped to her right thigh, a small steel spaulder on her right shoulder, and finally covering the lower half of her face and meeting the turtle neck beneath it, a grey face mask.

As she continued to read her book a sound reached her ears. Thudding hooves and the labored breathes of carriage horses. Snapping the book shut, she stood from her place of comfort. Reaching above she grabbed a staff concealed in the foliage. A long piece of cherry colored metal with silver lettering up and down the sides. Glancing into the distance she grasped for the spyglass in one of her pouches pockets.

"Well, let's see if this is them. Two brown horses, one with a large white spot on the left side, check. Carriage right hand side door scratched, check. Carriage riding low from all the medicine they stole, check. And one big asshole with an eyepatch riding up front. Check. I Lucy Heartfilia freaking called it! Hehehe easy money, oh yeah!"

Hopping down from her spot she waited for the incoming carriage to get a little closer. When it was within range of seeing her she began to jump up and down waving at the carriage, making sure to put a little effort into making her girls work to her advantage. The plan was obviously working as the carriage came closer it began to slow down.

 _"That's right suckers come on over. I've got a surprise for you jokers."_

"Help, oh please help! My cart fell over and my horse ran off!"

The carriage stopped in front of the girl and the man on the front of the wagon got off, before his two compatriots came out of the carriage to join him. The man up front with the eyepatch had a receding hair line and crooked nose. He was probably the biggest of the three though one of his friends wasn't far off. The other big guy was obviously much younger with a bowl cut and large lips. They were both easily six foot three with a decent bit of muscle to boot. The last man was rather small, being a few inches shorter than Lucy herself. A slicked back red bob was on top of his head and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. He was the one to start the conversation off and the way he was looking at her when he spoke made this job that much more satisfying for Lucy.

"Well hi there lovely. What's this I hear about an upturned cart? If you're in a spot of trouble the boys and I here would be happy to help."

Going on with her ploy Lucy kept the helpless act up.

"Oh thank you all so much. I'll make you all something to eat when my cart gets turned back over." A crinkle of the eyes and a little bounce just hooked them all.

"Oh I think that sounds good. You look like just the kind of girl that'd sate my appetite." The grin on his face made Lucy want to gag.

 _"In your dreams you sick little freak."_

"Oh I know how to make lots of different things and with all the food I have on the cart I bet I can make anything you want me to. The cart is just over here so follow me."

The small man turned to the large fellow with the eyepatch before following Lucy.

"Roger stay here for a minute and watch the carriage. Don't want nobody to come and steal our cargo."

"Ahh but Wes –"

"Don't worry big guy we'll come back when it's your turn to "eat"."

The small man, now identified as Wes, winked at the larger Roger. Roger grinned back in return. He could wait for a piece of that.

Lucy was grateful she was facing away from them as her nose wrinkled in disgust. Oh but she couldn't wait to see these nasty sacks of crap writhe in agony. She had met creatures that wanted to eat her that had more humanity. The walk to the "cart" was done in silence. They had been walking for nearly ten minutes before someone spoke.

"Love did you forget where your cart was cuz we've been walking for a while now."

Wes didn't want to spend all day out here but in the off chance that the girl had some money in that cart he was willing to take a quick detour. Besides going after the girl by the road would have been an easy way to get in trouble. But it looked like they'd have to skip the cart business. He wasn't a patient man anyways. He looked at his lumbering compatriot and nodded his head towards the girl. The big man nodded back and they began to move closer, just as the girl turned around.

"Oh I'm sorry I got distracted thinking about how I wanted to cook you guys."

Wes raised an eyebrow at this odd girl. He was beginning to think some village had lost its idiot.

"Don't you mean what you wanted to cook for us?"

Lucy's eyes narrowed and hidden from the two in front of her a smirk spread across her face.

"Nope and thinking about it, I know just how I wanna do it."

Wes tilted his head. Something was wrong here. Before he could even respond though the girl placed her hand in front of her with her thumb and middle finger pressed together.

 **"Blaze Burst: Flare Mine!"**

With a snap of her fingers, two red and black rings of magic appeared underneath the feet of the two men and subsequently exploded. The flames engulfed the men before the explosion sent them both rocketing backwards. From the pitiful quiet moans Lucy knew they were alive but from the smell of charred flesh and the stillness in their forms she knew they weren't going anywhere. Now she just needed to wait on their friend.

Unfortunately that wasn't going to be a long wait for Lucy. It seemed Roger had gotten impatient and followed them. Seeing his boss and friend cooked had pissed him off. Before Lucy even knew he was there Roger slammed her into a tree.

Her head ringing Lucy didn't have time to respond before Roger had her by the throat. He slammed her head into the tree for good measure. He wasn't taking any chances with a bloody wizard.

"You bitch! Thought you could just fry us huh?! Well what are you gonna do now? I'll tell you what, I'm gonna choke you out and then when you've passed out I'm gonna have some fun and the moment you wake up I'm gonna snap your neck!"

This was bad, very bad. She'd gotten careless. She couldn't think straight and in that moment her reflexes went to her pouch, where she pulled a black key from.

 **"Be-Belias!"**

"What the hell is that bi-"

Roger was unable to finish his final words as great hand had wrapped around his entire head. Roger's hands quickly left Lucy's neck as he began to beat on whatever was around his head. He began to panic when he was lifted by his head and nearly pissed himself when he was maneuvered so his eyes could see what was holding him.

Belias was absolutely livid, everything about this situation was infuriating but the voice that came when he spoke was in deep contrast to spirit's natural element of fire. In that moment winter itself was present in the flame ram's voice.

"So you think it's acceptable to lay your hands on a woman like that. Oh! Excuse me, you thought you'd lay your hands on my summoner like that? Hmm?"

There was no warning. No indication of movement. One moment Belias was standing with Roger held in front of him, his red mane in flames, whipping around, and in the next a great crash filled the clearing as Belias began to smash Roger into the ground.

"YOU DON'T " _SLAM"_ TREAT " _SLAM"_ WOMEN _"CRUNCH"_ LIKE _"SNAP"_ THAT!"

With roar of primal rage the now completely broken thief was flung away. Belias was heaving in great gulps of air in an effort to calm himself. Lucy meanwhile was just now managing to get her breath back as she had stopped coughing.

"Ugggh, note to self … ugh inhaling saliva is bad for you."

Coughing once more Lucy took a glance at the now most roughed up of her targets. Well his chest looked to be moving but with how Belias laid into him who knows how long that would last. She had heard a number of bones snap as her faithful, fiery, friend went on the rampage. Snorting she rolled her eyes, bringing these pigs in alive was worth a lot more than bringing them in dead. Turning to Belias who was now staring at her she sighed. Belias walked over and appeared to give her once over.

"Are you alright sweetheart? Looks like a nasty bruise on your noggin there." Moving one of his smaller hands closer to inspect the purple mark on her forehead.

Lucy swatted at his hand.

"Beeliaas! Don't touch it!" Turning her head to try and get away from the inquisitive spirit.

"I'm not gonna touch it, I just wanna look at it and make sure you're alright. Now hold still."

Lucy finally relented while giving Belias a deadpan stare. She knew he wouldn't have stopped until she let him make sure she was ok. It was a little embarrassing to be mother henned over like this. But kinda funny too considering Belias was easily twelve feet tall and probably weighed close to two thousand pounds. But with Lucy he treated her like she was glass. She loved the big lug and knew that he loved her too. Their relationship was what she wished her father and her could've had.

"I'm fine Belias but go make sure that idiot over there doesn't die. He's worth a good bit of money that I'm not in a hurry to lose."

"And why exactly should I save the man who was trying to kill you? Actually on that note why didn't you tell me that you had taken a job? You know I'm always here to help you. Why didn't you let me handle these goons for you sweetheart?"

"Uuugh I've got a ringing headache. I don't wanna argue with you so you go over there and make sure he's not dead and I will explain while I put on this lovely salve we made last month. Ok? Ok."

Belias shook his head at his stubborn little summoner. The girl was okay. If she had the energy to put out that much sass then she was fine. He walked over to the downed creature that he had just finished throttling before prodding him here and there to make sure none of the bones broken were lethal. Oh and he was using one of his larger hands, Lucy didn't say to be gentle. Needless to say, Roger was not in any less pain after this ordeal as he was before it.

Pulling out a small plastic jar, Lucy started to apply some of the salve inside to her bruised head and neck. The salve began to heat the affected areas as it worked its sweet delicious magic. A great sigh left her as she felt the head ache vanish and the throbbing lessen.

"Ok so I wanted to try and do a job on my own. Every time we go on a job together you end up doing most of the work and I just feel like I'm twiddling my thumbs. Since we started doing these jobs a year ago we have just blazed through them!" She gave a quick giggle at her little joke.

Belias groaned at the fire based pun. Silly girl was always making them.

"That should be a good thing though. Lucy it's not like we're going after anyone particularly dangerous, hell is it fair to say the only reason that idiot got you was because you got cocky and forgot to set proximity mines?"

The turn of the head and slight blush on her cheeks was enough of response to mark her guilty for Belias.

"Now see Lucy if you want to do some stuff on your own, that's fine. But at least summon me to watch your back. We're partners kiddo, I'm not trying to treat you like an infant. With rabble like this though I just charge right in and start swinging. They never have anything that can even phase me. Even the occasional wizard we run into on these jobs are so pitiful that I can block anything they send at me with my staff and have you blast them from the sides."

"Well why don't we go after some of the other espers then?"

Lucy's retort caught Belias off guard. He really didn't want to discuss this again. Going after the other espers was a daunting task and he wasn't sure how any of them would react to an attempt to have them join Lucy.

"Right now I think that we need to focus on getting you stronger before we try and take those on. Even my fellow third class brethren are a daunting task. To go after them I need you to be able to go farther in our spars. Your hits get stronger every time, your fires grow a little hotter, and your strategies that much more impressive. I've seen you blast a cliff in the exact spot to have it collapse on me knowing that when I dodged I would end up jumping on top of a mine that I didn't even see you place. That sent me into the river, which left me wide open for a hit from that staff of yours. You have no idea how proud I am of you and your progress."

Lucy looked at Belias the blush from before returning full force from the praise. Pulling down her mask she smiled at the big furry esper. Walking up to the bipedal ram she hugged him, his two smaller arms responding kind. She couldn't have asked for a better friend, or a better teacher. He had been so patient with her whenever they worked on her Blaze Burst magic and he had made the staff that she used now. Breaking the hug she looked at the three burnt and broken stooges that she had to turn in.

"Alright fire floof, we'll do it your way but we're gonna step it up a notch. We've been at this for about a year now and I feel like we should be getting to where we can try and go after a esper this time next year. Sound like a deal?"

The enthusiasm for improvement further proved Belias was right in his choice of summoner. The warmth in his voice proved that though it couldn't be seen the smile was felt.

"Sounds like a deal sweetheart."

"Good. Now I need you to carry these three back to the carriage for me. So come on."

The smirk sent Belias' way was positively glowing with smugness.

"Oh and what if I just let you do it huh? I thought you wanted to do your jobs on your own?"

Belias could play that game too. He wasn't a pack mule. He was a powerful being of fire. He forgot that though he could play the game, Lucy knew how to beat him. Her eyes grew big and wide, her bottom lip stuck out, and a dampness formed in the corners of her eyes.

"Yo-you mean you won't help me get them back? But I'm so little and cute. It would be dark before I got them to the carriage. *sniffle*"

Belias couldn't take it. He folded easier than tissue paper.

"Of course I'll carry them back darling! I'm so sorry, don't worry your favorite esper will get them into that carriage as quick as I can! We can't my little angel sleeping outside. No sir!"

Without a second's hesitation he picked the three criminals up and ran off towards the carriage. Barely missing the crooked grin and gleaming eyes of his summoner.

 _"Oh yeah, I am freaking adorable!"_

Chuckling to herself she pulled her mask back up, grabbed her staff and hurried to catch up with her doting spirit.

About halfway there Belias realized what had just happened and a cloud of depression fell around his head.

"I just got played. Gods I am a sucker. But she is just so cute. Someday she'll be a heartbreaker. Or is that day sooner than I think? What if boys are already coming after my adorable little darling?! Well that just won't do my Lucy deserves only the best. I'll have to keep my eyes out for any hooligans that would break her heart! MUWAHAHA keep your hands to yourselves boys because Lucy Heartfilia will be treated like the princess she is or else!"

Lucy caught up with Belias at the carriage to find him chuckling darkly and muttering about keeping boys away from her. A sweat drop formed as she looked at her slightly crazy spirit.

"Belias what are you chuckling about?"

Belias jumped at Lucy's voice and promptly threw the three men into the carriage. Much groaning and a rather unmanly squeak was heard following this action.

"Oh nothing my little princess. Just thinking about some things."

A deadpan look on Lucy's face showed exactly what she thought of that answer.

"Suuuuure crazy ram. Alright well I need to turn these fools and the carriage in but I'll summon you later tonight and we'll talk about taking on some bigger jobs. Sound good?"

"I will anxiously await your call. See you then princess!"

With that Belias vanished in a swirl of black mist. Leaving Lucy to smile and shake her head.

"Silly fire floof."

Later that night after turning in the targets and receiving her pay Lucy went to the local Rune Knights station. Upon walking in she went over to the local job board. These were jobs usually handed to a guild but sometimes there wasn't a guild close enough to offer a reasonable reward for the travel, other times it was time sensitive and the Rune Knights were looking for immediate assistance with a problem, but most of the time the jobs in a Rune Knights station just weren't a big enough to deal to go through with the paperwork and fees of hiring a guild wizard.

Looking through the ones posted, she paused as a Rune Knight began to walk her way. He was obviously sizing her up and checking her out if she had to guess. It wasn't a big deal to her, she can't stop them from looking. Gods help them though if they touched. Thirty-three broken hands, countless snapped noses, and no less than five cracked pelvises proved that Lucy knew full well how to use that staff. As he came closer she could already tell what he was gonna do. It wasn't the first time someone had tried to talk her out of a job because she was a young girl. It had happened a lot when she first started a year ago. But having worked in the area for as long as she had most of the Rune Knights along the south western coast at least knew about her, if not having outright met her personally. This guy was new.

"Hey there kiddo I think you might be in the wrong place. This is a job board for wizards. I think you should probably head on home and leave these to serious wizards."

 _"Ok time to take this asshole down a peg."_

"Oh I'm so sorry mister. I wasn't thinking. Are you a wizard?"

At this point some of the older Rune Knights had noticed the fiasco in the making. A good few of them had seen this song and dance in the past and were grinning in anticipation for the incoming beating. The newbie was too cocky anyways. At least this way he wouldn't be in the field for his first screw up via arrogance.

"Well yes I am little lady."

"Well mister Rune Knight I think you have a problem."

The Rune Knight looked at this odd little girl in confusion. He wasn't quite sure what she was getting at. As he went to question what she meant he felt his back grow oddly warm. Very warm, in fact why was it suddenly so hot?

"AHHH MY CAPE IS ON FIRE!"

The Rune Knight began looking for something that would put the flames out running around the station like a mad man.

"Oh no mister Rune Knight, I'll help you!"

The Rune Knight turned thinking that the girl might have some water or something only to be hit square in the face with her staff. Falling onto his back the man grabbed his face in pain.

"Oh I'm sorry I meant to hit the flames out! Quick you need roll around and put those flames out!"

Lucy began to kick the man over, hard. He rolled head over heels into the wall. With a groan the poor man fell face first to the ground. His compatriots were laughing at his misfortune. Some of them gasping for breath as the man had made an utter fool of himself. Walking over to the board Lucy grabbed three requests before tearing off the ticket stubs and putting them on the lobby desk.

"Well mister "wizard" I'm afraid I have some work to do. See you around. Hey Billy I'm taking these jobs."

Billy was the older and somewhat wider gentlemen sitting at the main desk in the lobby. Wiping a tear from his eye and trying to contain his laughter he only just barely managed to give her thumbs up in response. As Lucy left the through the front door the fool on the floor got up and started towards her. Bill noticing decided show the man a bit of mercy.

"Hold on there rookie you don't want any of that. That girl is out of your league and I don't feel like dragging what will undoubtedly be your smoldering butt to the infirmary."

"What are you talking about that girl just assaulted a Rune Knight. I'm going to arrest her!"

Billy looked at the rookie and just shook his head. Gods above the academy was really letting these graduates get fat heads.

"Oh really cuz all I saw is a cocky ass get his cape a little too close to an ashtray and a small girl try and put out the resulting fire."

A round of laughter followed this as the Rune Knights reveled in the newbie's come-uppins and verbal lashing. Needless to say the rookie wasn't too fond of this response.

"What but she ju-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there and throw you a bone kid. That girl has made herself a bit of a reputation over the past year. Most of the south-western seaboard know her moniker at least. That's Lucy Redmane, The Firecracker. So if you like how your face is configured you'll drop it. You're gonna find real quick, that in our line of work that there are plenty of wizards younger than you and stronger than captains. That girl is just one example."

Gobsmacked the newbie just stared at the door the little wizard had walked out of. Maybe he needed be a bit more careful in the future.

Lucy grinned to herself as she walked off to the odd place she called home. It was small but it had the two necessities she was looking for despite its lack of floor space. A high ceiling and a big bath. Apparently there was supposed to be a second story but due to a miscommunication the builders had somehow missed that part. It worked out fine for Lucy though. Belias probably would have put his head through just about any other place and she didn't want to go outside every time she wanted to summon him.

Reaching her bizarre house she unlocked the door and walked in, taking in a deep breath of relaxation. Home was good, she wasn't sure how long she'd stay here but for the past six months at least she had made this little spot as cozy as she could. Taking out Belias' key she pointed it at the tiled kitchen area.

"Alright Belias we're home."

Belias formed in the kitchen and sat at the small island located there. Reaching for the fridge with one of his larger arms he carefully pulled out a drink, before passing it to one of his smaller hands. Pressing the bottle into his great mane of red hair, he turned to his summoner.

"So sweetheart what jobs did you pick up for us to do?"

Seeing a twelve foot tall, ram man, drinking a beer at a kitchen island never failed to make Lucy giggle. She wasn't sure how he was drinking that and she had never really wanted to know the answer. Walking over to the island she placed the three pieces of paper down and then turned to make her way towards her bedroom and, more importantly, the great big bathtub right next to it.

 _"Ahh bath time, best time of the day. Mmmm can't wait to get in."_

"I am going to take a bath. You go ahead and read over those and we'll discuss them when I get out."

The snort that Belias gave in response to that was ignored by his summoner. Oh Belias knew full well that he would have plenty of time to look over the jobs that Lucy had taken. But honestly he would just glance them over while making dinner. Benefits of having four arms meant being able to multi-task like a boss.

Two hours later following a long bath and a simple dinner, Belias and Lucy sat in the living room. Belias was holding the papers and reading over them. For whatever reason he pulled a large pair of reading glasses out of nowhere and placed them over the smaller of his two masks. The image was a little too much for Lucy who burst into giggles at her ridiculous spirit.

"Alright so looking these over we have three jobs here, two of them we have some time to complete but the third if we want to take it we'll need to take it tomorrow. That particular job seems a good idea as it has to do with the one we just finished earlier today. We would just need to bring the stolen medicine to its intended destination. It's not difficult but I honestly doubt you grabbed it for anything more than follow through and easy cash."

"Moving onto the other two, we have a job for gathering a particular stone from a more densely packed piece of the southwestern mountains. The details for the job make it clear that we may encounter some dangerous wildlife. We should probably do that one second as it seems there's a deadline for the work that the client needs the stone for."

"Finally we have a straight up monster hunt for a wyvern that seems to have gotten rather brave and is taking livestock from a town with a decent population. This one is worrisome, either the creature is starving, mad, or very large. Coming as close to a large populace like this is abnormal behavior for any animal."

Concluding with his analysis Belias looked up at his summoner. Lucy nodded her head in agreement with Belias' conclusion, before responding to the esper.

"That's kinda why I took the last one. I wanna see if I can take on something a bit more dangerous and I'll be careful this time. This morning was enough of a wakeup call for me not to want a repeat performance. I'll have you summoned nearby and if it looks like I'm in over my head then you can come and beat the thing silly."

While he didn't argue with the plan, Lucy knew Belias wasn't fond of her taking on a wyvern by herself.

"Alright Lucy let's get some sleep and we'll go take the escort tomorrow but after we're done with that we'll be discussing how exactly you're going to handle a wyvern."

Rolling her eyes at the overprotective spirit, Lucy nodded her head. Belias vanished into black mist and Lucy headed to bed.

Lying there in bed holding Belias' key close, Lucy was proud of the progress she had made in the past six years. She had come far and with Belias' help she knew she would go even farther. Now the goal was to get strong enough to bring even more friends into the fold. Glancing at the small stack of magazines on her bedside table a thought occurred to the young wizard.

" _Maybe I'll join a guild soon. That would be so cool! But that can wait a little. Time will tell I guess. But we'll see how far we can get with just Belias and me."_

Relaxing deeper into the bed Lucy fell asleep, dreaming of adventures yet to be had and treasures both literal and intangible to be found.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Proof of Strength

 **AN: Alright so I don't know what's going on but when I posted my second chapter earlier the site said that I had updated on October 7** **th** **and it didn't change where the story is. But unless I'm some kind of time traveler, and sadly I lack a blue phone booth or the willingness to try to pull off a bow tie, the site is messing with me. This chapter will be shorter than the others since right now I just want to force the site to acknowledge that I have updated. _ Hopefully with this chapter the site will show I have updated today and my followers will be notified. I'm actually rather flattered that I've already gotten followers since it's only been like two days since I posted the first chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Final Fantasy. They belong respectively to Hiro Mashima and Square Enix.**

" **Spells"**

" _Thoughts"_

"Speech"

 **June 16** **th** **, 783**

Sitting atop a carriage, traveling through the woods, Lucy was reading the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly. Seemed like Fairy Tail was getting into all kinds of trouble lately. A laugh left her as read the details of one unfortunate business man and his lost cat. Apparently he had put up a rather substantial reward for the feline's return. Fairy Tail managed to find the kitty but ended up breaking the sewage line in the man's front yard in the process. How this was accomplished wasn't quite covered. A shout from nearby brought Lucy out of her internal musings as she turned to the elderly man that had hired her for this job.

"Miss Wizard we're going to stop over at that clearing for lunch. Would you like something to eat?"

Doctor Huan wasn't going to take any chances with this medicine this time. It had already been stolen once and he would make sure that it got to the people that needed it this time. Thank goodness for the little wizard on the carriage. She had already saved his bacon once when she got the medicine back the first time and now here she was helping once more.

"That's alright Mr. Huan. I've been snacking up here occasionally. I'll just keep a lookout for trouble. Don't want this medicine stolen a second time right?"

Lucy's eyes crinkled showing the grin that was hidden beneath her mask. She had been sneaking a few nuts and berries from her pouch during the ride. But honestly she just didn't feel like letting people see her face if she could help it. Four years may have gone by since the "death" of Lucy Heartfilia but she wasn't in a rush to test her luck. Let the dead rest in peace.

"Alright Ms. Lucy, if you're sure. I really do appreciate your help."

Lucy waved him off, shaking her head.

"I just do the best job I can Mr. Huan. It's my duty as a wizard to help people."

Doctor Huan could only smile in response. He knew that many others would vehemently disagree with the girl on her stance. Most wizards he had met in his life could be rather selfish people. To find one so young and so willing to help others was remarkable. Oh sure she was getting paid but she had been polite, timely, and well-mannered overall. When she brought back his medicine just yesterday he had been impressed to find not a single vial had been broken.

"Be that as it may, I am still grateful. Now if you're sure I can't interest you in something to eat maybe I could offer you a slice of my wife's cake when we get back hmm?"

The man chuckled as he saw the girl squirm at that. Wizard or not there were few men or women alive that would turn down free cake.

"I'll have to take you up on that Mr. Huan."

Pulling up to the clearing the Doctor got off the carriage from before going to the door to retrieve his lunch. Walking to a sunny spot, after setting the horses with some water, he sat to enjoy his meal.

Lucy meanwhile was keeping an eye out for trouble. Sadly it seemed this job wasn't going to be so easy.

" _Why? Why couldn't this just be simple? A nice little carriage ride from one town to the other. Some leisure time to get in some light reading. Was that too much to ask?"_

Apparently so, because she had seen the shadows near the clearing and their lack of movement indicated that they weren't the honest sort. Seriously how much was this medicine worth?

 _"Well I don't know for sure that it is the medicine they're after. This could be totally unrelated. Heck they might even be waiting for someone else."_

A mohawked young man jumping from the trees seemed to answer her and her hopes for a peaceful trip were dashed at that moment.

"Give us the meds and maybe we'll let you two go."

Four similar hooligans joined the loudmouth.

 _"And there went my nice day. Ahh well a work out would be nice after yesterday's debacle but I'll summon Belias so he won't gripe at me later."_

Smirking at the unfortunate punching bags in front of her Lucy grabbed the dark key in her pocket and whispered the one word that could end this before it began. Hopefully he'd let her vent though.

 **"Belias."**

In a swirl of black mist and coalescing embers Belias came forth in front of the doctor. Taking a glance at the situation he could only shake his head.

"You are a magnet for trouble you know that right?"

"HOW IS THIS MY FAULT?!" Lucy shouted in indignation.

Turning back to the hooligans she glared as they started to waver.

 _"Oh no, no running away so you can try and double back and hit us later. I'm gonna smoke you all right here."_

"Belias keep an eye on the doc. I need a workout and these gentlemen have volunteered to assist."

Grinning Lucy turned back to her opponents. Belias placed himself behind the doctor with his staff held out in front of the man. Lucy sized up her current training dummies. They seemed to still be unsure of what to do with Belias now in between them and their goal.

 _"Five total. Two bats, a hatchet, a set of brass knuckles and a knife. Gods what a bunch of losers. They look like a bunch of junkies. Though honestly thinking about it they probably are."_

 _"Alright so knife and hatchet are going down first, a bruise from one of the others I can shrug off but getting cut up is not an option. Now what to do ….. ahhh that'll work."_

Just as the would be thieves were beginning to get their wits about them Lucy swung her staff from her back, twirled it in one hand, and placed her hand out with fingers ready to snap.

 **"Blaze Burst: Ember Flurry!"**

With a snap the ground beneath the young men lit up with a large ring of black and red magic. A brief sizzling sound was heard before a sudden crack filled the air and hundreds of burning red embers flew up from the ground. Right into the eyes, noses and unprotected skin of the poor fools. All of them grabbed at their eyes trying to rub out the intense burning that now summed up their existence.

In this Lucy's plan actually worked out better than expected. When they reached for their eyes to stop the burning all five of them dropped their weapons in the process. At that point what followed wasn't a fight. It was just Lucy getting to woop on some poor saps that managed to roll snake eyes that day.

Rushing into the middle of the boys she kept her own magic up, making sure to keep the embers from burning her. At this point her training with Belias meant that even if they did land on her she wouldn't even feel it. Too much time had been spent on making sure her own magic couldn't hurt her. She'd be a pretty pitiful fire wizard if she got burnt by her own flames.

Turning on her heel she twisted to bring the full force of her staff to the side of schmuck number one's knee. An odd bang filled the air followed by a loud crack. The man fell to the ground screaming. Not slowing for a moment Lucy used her staff to vault into the air before landing feet first onto the head of schmuck number two. That much force to the head was enough to knock the man out.

At this point the other three had started to get their bearings. Rubbing their eyes they rushed the girl, not even bothering to find the weapons they had dropped earlier. Schmuck number three came in first with a right hook. Twirling her staff she hit the man's wrist and that curious loud bang happened once more just as the staff touched, his now broken fist flying so wide as to almost spin him.

As he fell to his knees grasping his wrist schmuck number four tried to tackle Lucy. Seeing this coming Lucy waited for him to get closer before dropping low and bringing her staff in front of her. The man all but impaled himself. The bang going off once more, knocking every bit of air clean out of his lungs, Lucy used his own momentum and tossed him onto number three who was still holding his wrist.

Four down, one to go and he wasn't waiting. Running at her full tilt she wasn't given much wiggle room. He tried making a grab for her but Lucy tilted back and brought her staff right into his gut. A bang once more and the thug was sent back off the staff. Still standing it seemed he was either tougher or more blitzed than his companions, likely both. He swung once more and this time Lucy met his fist with the staff. With a bang his hand clicked backwards to an angle that was not healthy. Falling to the ground and clutching his hand, he began to scream. Taking pity on him Lucy tapped his head with the staff and with a softer bang than previously he was out like a light.

Looking around Lucy kicked their weapons farther off so as to not encourage any bold ideas. Admiring her handiwork Lucy turned back to a now stunned Doctor Huan and Belias. Looking back and forth from Lucy to the thieves, Doctor Huan was astonished.

"My dear girl that was amazing! You handled those five like children and without a scratch on you no less. Absolutely amazing! What was that noise though? Was that magic as well?"

With a nod Lucy returned her staff to her back.

"Belias could you tie them up real quick? We'll let the local guards know about them when we pass through the next town."

Looking at the Doctor, Lucy sighed. Something funny was going on here. That job request obviously hadn't covered all the details and she was paying for it. Once she got this stuff to its destination she was done with the job so she wasn't going to gripe about it. Still being left in the dark was not a situation she enjoyed being in. So while Belias was tying up her latest black and blue masterpieces, she would work on solving that issue.

"Yeah actually, my staff can create small explosions and I use them to push back my opponents or give my hits that much more oomph. I've gotten so good at it that on one job I just started twirling and couldn't miss hitting someone. I hit so many of them so quickly that one of my clients started calling me Firecracker as a joke. Someone else must have heard it because people though it was a legitimate title."

Lucy laughed while reminiscing about that day. Huan chuckled as well. The girl's title fit in more ways than he had originally thought. He was not prepared for her question though.

"So Doctor Huan, mind telling me why people are so dead set on stealing this stuff? This is the second time in three days no less that someone has tried to steal it. If there's something illegal going on with this job you won't like the consequences."

Glaring at the man Lucy could tell Belias had walked up behind her. Placing his large staff in the ground. The duo standing in front of him was more than a little intimidating. It seemed to be a bit too much as Huan's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

"AAAAAAH! Lucy you killed him! You can't do that to old people! You're just too scary!"

Belias now had his hands on his heads running around in panic.

"I AM NOT SCARY! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MADE HIM PASS OUT!"

Lucy was a little embarrassed. She hadn't meant to cause him to faint. Granted she was going to blame Belias for that. But still she just wanted a little information from him.

"Outside of fighting the only way anyone passes out from me is being put into shock by my stunning good looks."

Fingers in the sign for victory, Lucy struck a pose. One of the now tied up schmucks had managed to gain enough clarity to wolf whistle in appreciation. Just then a very large and surprisingly sharp staff flew into the tree, so close to his head as to shave the Mohawk on his head. He collapsed into Morpheus' sweet embrace right after.

The deadpan look that Lucy gave Belias was met with absolutely no shame whatsoever.

"What? You said you're stunning good looks caused people to go into shock right? Looks like he's shocked now."

An eye roll and a shake of the head of exasperation was all the response she gave him as she turned back to Doctor Huan. Well they did have a deadline to meet. Might as well get him into the carriage. Picking him up like a sack of potatoes, Lucy did her best to lay him down in the seat inside the carriage.

"Alright Belias, I'm gonna go ahead and get him to the hospital we're headed too. If he's still out when I get there at least there will be doctors there that can give him a once over."

Belias nodded and vanished into that black mist of his. Lucy got behind the reins of the carriage and got the horses moving.

About an hour later Doctor Huan woke up and Lucy apologized for causing the man to faint.

"Honestly dear if we could just keep that incident to ourselves I would appreciate it. If anyone ever found out about that I am fairly certain I would never hear the end of how a young girl, wizard or not, caused me to faint. I still get teased by my wife for falling in the toilet once because I left the seat up. That was nearly five years ago."

Lucy giggled at the thought.

"Well that's what you get for leaving the seat up."

"Yes, yes, haha my wife takes great joy in bringing it up every time I forget now. Anyways the reason behind the medicine's seeming popularity is that in this form it is a powerful hallucinogen and quite addictive at that. But once constituted properly it's a wonderful cure for the painful coughing illness that has become prevalent in the upcoming town. I apologize for keeping that from you but I didn't want to reveal that information to anymore people. One slip up already got me as much attention as all this."

Lucy nodded her head in acceptance. His reasoning was sound even if it was a pain to walk into a job without knowing all the pertinent info. But with the town now in sight it looked like this job was done anyways.

A little over half an hour later Lucy and Doctor Huan stood in front of the hospital watching the medicine be unloaded. Huan had thanked her several times since they arrived and Lucy just waved it off. When Lucy was handed the reward she was a little surprised to find that it was more than agreed upon. It was Huan's turn to wave off Lucy as he received a questioning look. Smiling she shook hands with the Doctor as they exchanged farewells. Lucy walked off towards the nearest train station. It wasn't too late in the day and she might as well hop a train to the next job.

" _No sense in wasting time if it can be helped. Time to head to the western port of Sadino. This job is gonna be a pain. Traveling from the coast to the mountains and then searching for a shining rock in cave full of shining rocks! At least that job request had the decency to list more details. Like that it's full of nasty Blango. I am not in the mood to get bit. With any luck Belias' mere presence will keep the awful things away."_

Finding the station and purchasing her ticket, Lucy made her way onto the train and found a seat. It had been a good day. All things said and done Lucy wouldn't trade this life for anything.

" _Especially not for what I left four years ago. Faking my death may have been extreme but I don't regret it. I'm free now and if I keep this up I'll be strong enough to keep it that way. One more esper, I just want one more and then I'll feel safe enough to join a guild. Then I bet it won't matter who comes my way. I'll be able to beat them down!"_

While Lucy daydreamed of strength yet unattained and the future she desired, the world kept turning. Pride cometh before the fall and Lucy's faith in her own strength and that of Belias might be tested sooner than she thought.


End file.
